Jon Bon Jovi Explains His ‘Biggest Mistake’

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Jon Bon Jovi celebrated his successes as he looked back on his career, but also his failures – including the “terrible” performance he delivered the first time his parents went to see him play.

The singer also reflected on what he regarded as his “biggest mistake” in an interview for the Big Issue’s Letter to My Younger Self series.

“The first talent show my parents came to see me play I was so terrible they wanted to crawl under their seats with embarrassment,” Bon Jovi said. “But they saw my passion and my commitment. So when I was just 17 they let me play in bars till closing time and they always said, ‘Well, at least we knew where you were.’ … I could get home at one or two in the morning, and have to still be in school by eight o’clock. They just said, ‘Show up on time for school; you know that is your responsibility… but pursue your dream.”

He added that they knew that he wasn’t going to bars to “fuck around” but to “do the job,” and demonstrated the result of their support: “By the time I was 20 I had written ‘Runaway’ and it was on the radio and by the time I was 21 I had a record deal. So there wasn’t the need for my parents to have a sit down with their 35-year-old son who was still playing in a bar in Santa Barbara saying, ‘I’m gonna make it.’

Bon Jovi insisted that “[t]here was no plan B for me ever” because of the attitude they helped instill. “What I got from my parents was the ability to make the dream reality,” he said. “[E]ven if you truly weren’t any good at your craft, if you believed you were, you could work on it. As I got older I realized that was a great gift that I got from my folks. They truly believed in the John Kennedy mantra of going to the moon. ‘Yeah, of course you can go to the moon. Just go, Johnny.’ And there I went.”

He admitted that he’d been through “deeply dark” and “deeply hurtful” experiences, but argued that they were “part of life,” adding: “I wish it was all pretty, but maybe if it was all pretty I wouldn’t have gotten this wisdom or this deep appreciation for who and what I am today.”

He added: “The biggest mistake I made in my life is that I didn’t take enough time to stop and look around and enjoy it. I was always so focused on the next step, then the next and the next, that it cost me a lot of great memories. And it caused a lot of sleepless nights that weren’t warranted. It’s my biggest regret. The one thing I would tell the younger self is, ‘Enjoy it more, relax. It’s gonna have ups and downs but keep the faith.’”

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Listen to Joan Jett, Billy Idol Guest on Miley Cyrus’ New Album

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Miley Cyrus released her new album Plastic Hearts, featuring collaborations with rock icons Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett and Billy Idol.

Jett can be heard on “Bad Karma” while Idol duets on “Night Crawling” and both songs can be heard below. The track “Midnight Sky” featuring Nicks was released earlier this month.

Cyrus has been friends with both singers for some time, although her relationship with Jett is probably better known. In an extensive interview discussing the LP, Cyrus admitted that, at one point, she’d misunderstood how similar they were as she read a book that featured Jett’s written notes. “I was looking at pictures of her, getting inspired, and I was like, ‘Shit, we have the exact same handwriting!’” Cyrus recalled. “I was like, ‘Man, me and Joan DO have a lot in common. I even have her handwriting.’” Then she realized it was her own writing, after she’d felt inspired to scribble down some lyrics and the book had been the closest thing to hand. “I do not remember her writing about floating through space with an astronaut,” she said.

Explaining her decision to ask Jett to appear on Plastic Hearts, she recalled that producer Mark Ronson had told her: “This is the most Miley record of all time.” She continued: “I thought, ‘There’s only one person who could own this record more than me – it’s Joan Jett.’ Because that’s who instilled that mentality into me.”

She went on to explain she’d known Idol for years too. “I think the first thing I ever did for Billy was like 2013; I actually think that’s just when I’d just dyed my hair platinum and just shaved my head – I had short little spiky hair, and I looked like Billy Idol,” she said. “I really used him as the inspiration for the transformation that I had.” She added that his music had played a role too: “The way that he kinda married like rebellion, but also his music had like incredible hooks – he showed me that I could have balance, that I could make music that I and other people could love.”

Miley Cyrus and Joan Jett – ‘Bad Karma’

Miley Cyrus and Billy Idol – ‘Night Crawling’

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Does David Bowie Biopic ‘Stardust’ Benefit From Being Unofficial?

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Johnny Flynn, who plays David Bowie in the new biopic Stardust, said the production benefited from its unofficial status.

He argued that it offered more freedom to explore a “responsible” story with the aim of “humanizing” Bowie – but he admitted he hadn’t wanted to take the role when it was first offered to him.

“When it first came to me, I was, I was not at all interested in, you know, another rock star biopic,” Flynn told Exclaim in a new interview. “And an earlier version of the scripts seem to be more like that. And I kind of thought is was a poison chalice, you know? Who the fuck wants to play David Bowie, who is a hero of mine and lots of people?” That changed when he met director Gabriel Range. “[H]e was taking the story in a very different direction – he wanted it to be this tiny moment in time. That really wasn’t a jukebox musical in the style of some of the other recent roadster biopics and stuff.”

Stardust is set during Bowie’s first visit to the U.S. and details the problems he encountered and the realizations he made before he secured success. “[I]t’s just about what it is to be a young artist figuring stuff out,” Flynn said. “And I was fascinated to learn the stuff that I did about Dave. I have the records and I know some of the headlines, but I don’t know a lot of the things.”

He continued: “In lots of ways, not being an official estate-backed studio film with a big budget is an asset. It is more the kind of film I’m interested in seeing… the kind of genesis films for the journey of an artist, and just like a prism in which to then see the rest of his life through. So you understand this one moment in his life, and it makes sense of a lot of other things.”

He reported that they’d never even asked Bowie’s estate for approval, and referred to comments by the late icon’s son, Duncan Jones, who’d pointed out there was none of his father’s music in the movie. “That’s true, but to my mind he wasn’t condemning the film,” the actor said. “I think he wouldn’t necessarily be that offended by it if he saw it. Hopefully not at all. We’re not trying to destroy anybody’s idea of David with it. We’re hopefully kind of augmenting a perspective of him and humanizing him, which I think is a responsible thing to do when we when we talk about great artists.”

Flynn had previously said he expected to receive “flak” from Bowie fans, but regretted that people were slating a production they’d never seen; and he compared what was happening to Stardust to what had happened to Bowie in his early days. “[E]ven these great innovators, these great artists, they started somewhere,” he said, reflecting that it was valuable to be reminded that while future icons were trying to find their voices, “people were attacking them all the time and cutting them down.”

He continued: “I did this film as much as anything to say, ‘Come on, we’ve got to give everybody a break. We have to allow people artistic freedom.’ And ironically, the film, which is a bold story, has been cut down by those same people with the same attitude of like, ‘No, you can’t do that.’ Which, in and of itself, feels like vindication for the ideas behind making the film.”

Stardust is currently available to rent or buy via iTunes.

‘Stardust’ Trailer

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Original Darth Vader Actor David Prowse Dead at 85

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David Prowse, the 6-foot, 7-inch strongman who played Darth Vader in the original Star Wars movies, has died at age 85, his agent confirmed.

Although the Vader character was voiced by James Earl Jones, and his death scene in Return of the Jedi was performed by Sebastian Shaw, Prowse was credited for creating the dominant physical presence of the classic sci-fi villain.

Despite helping make the Star Wars movies a success, he had a troubled history with the production. He was accused of having leaked the plot line that Vader was Luke Skywalker’s father, although he said it had been a “lucky guess” given to fans a year before the script had been written. He was also accused of having leaked the line that Vader would die while Return of the Jedi was under production, which he denied. A journalist involved with publishing the story later said it hadn’t come from Prowse; but the actor reported: “That ruined my association with Star Wars… I was ostracized while on the movie, the producer and director wouldn’t work with me, and [George] Lucas wouldn’t speak to me. I had six weeks of purgatory.” His relationship with creator George Lucas eventually collapsed and, in 2010, he was forbidden to take part in official fan events. The events were explored in 2015 documentary I Am Your Father.

Before Star Wars, he’d been seen as Frankenstein’s Monster in the James Bond spoof Casino Royale, and played the same role in two Hammer horror movies. He’d also been a security guard in A Clockwork Orange and the Black Knight in Jabberwocky. On TV he had parts in Doctor Who, Space: 1999 and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

However, Prowse was best known – in the U.K. at least – for appearing as the Green Cross Code Man for 14 years. The superhero-like character was the frontman for the government’s road safety campaign, where he reinforced “stop, look, listen, think” messages of caution via public service announcements. He was granted an M.B.E. honor for his work in 2000. “[W]e actually reduced the road accidents by half,” he said later. “They went down from 40,000 a year to less than 20,000. And we’d actually saved something in the region of a quarter of a million children’s lives with the campaign.”

He revealed that he’d nearly lost the role after singing up to play Vader. “[A]s soon as the government knew I was the evil villain of Star Wars, they were going to sack me, because they thought my image as the evil villain would have a detrimental effect on this goody-goody Green Cross Code man character,” he recalled. “But exactly the opposite happened. And all the kids knew the Green Cross Code Man was really Darth Vader, of course all the kids loved Darth Vader. And it was Darth Vader talking to them about road safety. And that was one of the successes of the campaign.”

Green Cross Code Man PSA

Prowse had suffered a series of health issues, partly related to his size and strenuous life style, and he’d retired in 2016. “May the force be with him, always!” his agent, Thomas Bowington, told the BBC. “Though famous for playing many monsters, for myself, and all who knew Dave and worked with him, he was a hero in our lives.” He added that the death was “a truly and deeply heart-wrenching loss for us and millions of fans all over the world.”

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Ozzy Osbourne Says He’s Not on Anti-Depressants Over Randy Rhoads

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Ozzy Osbourne said it wasn’t true that he’d been taking anti-depressants ever since the passing of guitarist Randy Rhoads in 1982.

Rhoads died as the result of a plane stunt going wrong during a tour, and the tragedy affected Osbourne deeply. In the past he’d referred to using a “low dose” of drugs as a way of dealing with the incident, even though it had taken place decades previously.

In a new interview with GQ he was asked if he’d “been on anti-depressants ever since,” replying: “No, that’s not true. But it was a very depressing time in my life. Every time I talk about that, the tape starts to run in my head of that day when he died. It was awful. It was like a bad fucking horror movie. This house was on fire. The bus had been hit by the plane. There was glass and gasoline everywhere. The fucking house was engulfed. And he was such a nice guy. A very gentle man, a very tiny man… but so powerful with his instrument.”

Osbourne repeated that 2020 had been the “worst year” of his life, with coronavirus lockdown coming on top of a series of health setbacks. “I’ve got emphysema, so if I get this virus I’m fucked,” he said. “If I go out I wear a mask, but I don’t like wearing a mask, so I don’t go out much. The producer on my album [Andrew Watt] got the virus. I’d phone him up every day and he said he couldn’t sleep, because as soon as he went to sleep he’d stop breathing. He’s not the same person now… It’s like anyone who’s had a near-death experience: he’s become a bit careful with life.” He added: “But my two granddaughters caught it and you wouldn’t think they had anything wrong with them. It just bounced off them.”

He revealed that he’d taken to playing with a pellet gun to relieve the boredom. “I’m going super nuts now,” he explained. “I’m shooting pellets at the wall every day. I’m getting through 10,000 pellets a week. Bang, bang, bang.” Asked what he was shooting he replied: “Just targets I’ve made. In the past I shot everything you could shoot, though. Cows, sheep, calves, pigs, all kinds of things, dogs…” When queried over shooting dogs he said: “Not many. A dog. One dog. Not on purpose. It was in a lot of pain and I put it out of its misery. It’s not like I go dog hunting at night.”

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COVID-19 Has Forced Keith Richards into ‘Un-Normal’ Normality

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Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards noted that he has “got into a more normal way of life” — including gardening — due to the coronavirus lockdown.

The 76-year-old recently revealed to Goldmine that he’s enjoyed calmer times while the pandemic has halted the band’s live plans.

“I’ve been in hiding, basically,” Richards said. “Hunkering down with the family and a few friends because we have to stay in a bubble, you know. I’ve been out to a restaurant with outdoor seating a couple times, but now it’s getting a bit chilly so we’re eating in. Thank God the wife’s a good cook, bless her heart!”

He reported that he’d enjoyed the experience of watching his garden grow, adding: “I spent the whole summer actually admiring the garden and also doing a bit of gardening myself – watering the veggies and the stuff. I got into a more normal way of life, which is un-normal.”

In another recent interview, he told the BBC that he’d hoped to have a more productive year.

“We was ready, primed to go on the road when this virus hit, so it was kind of, ‘On your marks, get set, no,’” he said. “It’s been very weird for everybody this year, hasn’t it?” Asked how he might celebrate the Stones’ 60th anniversary, which takes place in 2022, he joked: “I might get a new wheelchair.”

He went on to reflect: “[I]t’s been pretty exceptional this particular life. I’m really at a loss sometimes to sort of figure out how the hell I got here. But the music is the thing that keeps you going, so that’s what I try and concentrate on.”

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Wolfgang Van Halen Regrets Eddie Didn’t Get to See ‘Grand Finale’

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Wolfgang Van Halen said it was a “bummer” that his late father Eddie Van Halen didn’t get to  enjoy the “grand finale” that was being planned before his death.

He’d previously confirmed that a “Kitchen Sink” tour celebrating Van Halen’s entire history – including a reunion with Sammy Hagar and original bassist Michael Anthony – had been in the works before Eddie’s cancer made it impossible to proceed. “We’d already semi-confirmed Mike coming back and me opening,” Wolfgang told 100.3 The X Rocks in a recent interview, embedded below. “Once that was kinda set in stone we had to put it on the back burner because Dad’s health wasn’t doing so well. Throughout that time we were like, ‘What if we took it a step further?’ and the more we talked about it the more excited we became. It was like, it could just be this grand finale of some sort.”

Becoming emotional, he added: “It’s really a bummer that that never happened.”

But the younger musician said he was pleased to be able to offer Van Halen fans some “solace” and “closure” with the release of his tribute single “Distance” and his public discussion about the iconic guitarist.

“I think the reason all this press stuff has been so easy for me is because it’s just all about Dad,” Wolfgang continued. “I love talking about how amazing he was, how loving of a father he was.” He added: “I think when we transfer over to talking about my music, moving forward, is when I might be a little more shy and nervous.”

Asked about how he felt about having to deal with rumors over Van Halen’s future, he replied: “I think it’s less fights and more kind of – pew, pew – like, taking things out.” He continued: “When I see the development of some rumor, something stupid like me taking over for Dad, or me going on tour but playing to isolated tracks of Dad … It’s like, ‘No, that’s stupid, and I’m gonna tell you right now so you guys don’t sit there and hope for something dumb like that. You can’t do that. My Dad would be really upset. He’d be like, ‘What are you doing? You just recorded all this music that I love so much. Why aren’t you going out and doing that?’”

Wolfgang said it was “nice” to see that the release of his tribute song, “Distance,” along with his public speaking, was offering fans “some sort of a therapeutic side, some sort of solace and closure, if you will, to my dad’s life,” He reflected: “He’s not here anymore [but] he’s definitely left a mark for eternity… right now this is all about Dad and “Distance” and having all the proceeds go to his favorite charity. It’s kind of my gift and my tribute to him.”

Wolfgang Van Halen Interview

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Ann Wilson Says Heart Biopic Is in the Works

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Ann Wilson has broken the news that a biopic about Heart is being produced for Amazon.

The singer made the announcement on SiriusXM’s Volume West show, saying that Carrie Brownstein of the punk band Sleater-Kinney, who also starred in IFC”s Portlandia, will both write and direct. “I saw the first draft of the script,” Wilson revealed. “It’s really cool. She’s working with the movie company — Amazon — and with the producer, Linda Obst, who did Sleepless in Seattle.”

Ann said that the script is expected to cover the story of her and her sister Nancy from childhood into the ’90s. The principals have yet to be cast, and Ann doesn’t have any preferences for who will portray her on the screen. “I just don’t have any idea. I’m too close to it,” she said. “I’m just as excited about finding out as you are.”

The singer said that Anne Hathaway, who won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Fantine in the film adaptation of the musical Les Miserables, has expressed interest in playing her, but added, “I don’t think she’s exactly right for it.”

It’s unsure if the creative team behind the movie are looking for actors who can sing or if they will lip-synch to the original recordings. “That’s still in development right now,” Wilson said, “because of COVID it slowed everything down. But it’s definitely coming along.”

Last month, Ann Wilson released a cover of Steve Earle‘s “The Revolution Starts Now.” She said she chose the song because it’s “a powerful, uplifting anthem of unity. It’s an incitement to think higher than polarization and derision. We need that now. I used to love this song in a ‘fun’ way. Nowadays, I take it much more seriously and urgently.”

Obst other production credits include Flashdance, One Fine Day, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and the TV series Hot in Cleveland.

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Van Morrison, Eric Clapton Detail New Anti-Lockdown Song

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Van Morrison and Eric Clapton collaborated on a new anti-lockdown song, “Stand and Deliver,” out digitally on Dec. 4.

Morrison wrote and Clapton performed the track, which continues the former’s Save Live Music campaign. Proceeds will benefit Morrison’s Lockdown Financial Hardship Fund, which assists musicians who are struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown.

“There are many of us who support Van and his endeavors to save live music; he is an inspiration,” Clapton said in a statement, per Variety. “We must stand up and be counted because we need to find a way out of this mess. The alternative is not worth thinking about. Live music might never recover.”

He also called the recent lack of live events “deeply upsetting.”

Morrison enthused that “Eric’s recording is fantastic and will clearly resonate with the many who share our frustrations.” He added, “It is heart-breaking to see so many talented musicians lack any meaningful support from the government, but we want to reassure them that we are working hard every day to lobby for the return of live music, and to save our industry.”

“Stand and Deliver” will follow a trio of Morrison songs — “Born to Be Free,” “As I Walked Out” and “No More Lockdown” — focused on the pandemic lockdown. He previously slammed the idea of socially distanced concerts as “pseudo-science,” saying he only agreed to play three limited-audience shows in the U.K. to keep his band working.

“This is not a sign of compliance or acceptance of the current state of affairs,” Morrison wrote on his website. “This is to get my band up and running and out of the doldrums. This is also not the answer going forward. We need to be playing to full-capacity audiences going forward.”

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Soundtrack to Frank Zappa Documentary Now Streaming

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With today’s release of Alex Winter‘s documentary about Frank Zappa comes news that its soundtrack is also available to stream.

The music in Zappa spans the composer’s entire career, including psychedelic rock, jazz and classical experiments — beginning with several cuts from his 1966 debut with the Mothers of Invention, Freak Out, to the last recording released in his lifetime, 1993’s The Yellow Shark. It contains 12 tracks that have never been commercially released — including three selections from a June 1968 concert at the Whisky A Go-Go, his 1978 performance of “Dancin’ Fool” on Saturday Night Live and several interview clips — along with two songs originally released on Zappa’s labels, Alice Cooper‘s “No Longer Umpire” and the GTOs’ “The Captain’s Fat Theresa Shoes.”

The soundtrack also contains music from two of Zappa’s main classical influences, Edgard Varése and Igor Stravinsky, and 26 selections from John Frizzell’s score. You can listen using any of the platforms found here.

For Zappa, Winter received full access to the Zappa Trust. He interviewed several musicians who worked with Zappa, including Steve Vai, Mike Keneally and Ian Underwood, as well as Zappa’s widow Gail, who died in 2015. You can see the trailer below and stream the movie from its official website.

Universal is accepting pre-orders for the physical set, which will be available next year as three-CD or five-LP formats (black or smoke vinyl), along with a 21-track compilation that will be sold digitally and on clear vinyl.

Watch the ‘Zappa’ Trailer

‘Zappa Original Motion Picture Soundtrack’ Track Listing

Disc One
1. “Anyway the Wind Blows”  – The Mothers of Invention
2. “You’re Probably Wondering Why I’m Here”  – The Mothers of Invention
3. “Everytime I See You” – The Heartbreakers^
4. “Motherly Love” – The Mothers of Invention
5. “Memories of El Monte” (Live from the Whisky A Go-Go – June 23, 1968) – The Mothers of Invention*
6. “Oh! In the Sky” (Live from the Whisky A Go-Go – June 23, 1968) – The Mothers of Invention*
7. “The Duke” (Live from the Whisky A Go-Go – June 23, 1968) – The Mothers of Invention*
8. “How Could I Be Such a Fool?” – Frank Zappa
9. “The Reason We Have Stayed Together…” – Interview with Warren Duffy / WMEX Boston – Jan. 31, 1969*
10. “Black Beauty” – Frank Zappa
11. “Absolutely Free” – The Mothers of Invention
12. “You Didn’t Try to Call Me” – Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention
13. “Agency Man” – Frank Zappa
14. “Oh No” – The Mothers of Invention
15. “Mother People” – The Mothers of Invention
16. “Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite: Finale” – Orchestre de l’Opéra Bastille & Myung Whun Chung
17. “FZ on Varèse” – Interview with Craig Eldon Pinkus, Indiana University Radio-TV Center – April 25, 1974*
18. “Varèse: Ionisation” – Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Pierre Boulez
19. “The Captain’s Fat Theresa Shoes” – GTO’s^
20. “No Longer Umpire” – Alice Cooper
21. “Road Ladies” – Frank Zappa

Disc Two
1. “Call Any Vegetable (Excerpts)” (Live at Fillmore West – Nov. 6, 1970) – Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention*
2. “Happy Together” (Live at Fillmore West – Nov. 6, 1970) – Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention*
3. “Scumbag” (Live at Fillmore East, NYC, 1971) – Frank Zappa, The Mothers of Invention, John Lennon, Yoko Ono
4. “Your Mouth” – Frank Zappa
5. “Cheepnis” (Live at the Roxy, 12/10/73, Show 1) – Frank Zappa
6. “Apostrophe’” (Live in Los Angeles, Rehearsal Hall – June 21, 1974) – Frank Zappa*
7. “Muffin Man” (Live at the Palladium, NYC, 1977) – Frank Zappa^
8. “Dancin’ Fool” (Live on Saturday Night Live – Oct. 21, 1978) – Frank Zappa*
9. “Mo’s Vacation” (Live in Munich 1978) – Frank Zappa*
10. “The Black Page #1 (Piano Version)” – Frank Zappa
11. “Sofa” (1977 Mix, Live) – Frank Zappa
12. “Fembot in a Wet T-shirt” – Frank Zappa
13. “Valley Girl” – Frank Zappa & Moon Zappa
14. “The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing” (Live at The Pier, NYC – 1984) – Frank Zappa*
15. “H.R. 2911” – Frank Zappa
16. “G-Spot Tornado”) – Frank Zappa

Disc Three
1. “Frank’s Library” – (John Frizzell)
2. “Edgewood Arsenal” – (John Frizzell)
3. “Frank’s Parents” – (John Frizzell)
4. “The Blackouts” – (John Frizzell)
5. “Greeting Cards” – (John Frizzell)
6. “Studio Z” – (John Frizzell)
7. “Frank Goes to Jail”– (John Frizzell)
8. “Musically Difficult” – (John Frizzell)
9. “The Parts Are Complicated” – (John Frizzell)
10. “Murray Roman’s TV Show” – (John Frizzell)
11. “Frank Put His Foot Down” – (John Frizzell)
12. “Laurel Canyon” – (John Frizzell)
13. “The Manson Family” – (John Frizzell)
14. “Are We Going to Get Paid” – (John Frizzell)
15. “Steve Vai’s Perspective” – (John Frizzell)
16. “Frank Could Be Hardcore” – (John Frizzell)
17. “Bruce Bickford’s Zappa Head” – (John Frizzell)
18. “If I’m Alive” – (John Frizzell)
19. “Keep This Guy Under Check” – (John Frizzell)
20. “Frank’s Business Perspective” – (John Frizzell)
21. “Fake It” – (John Frizzell)
22. “Don’t Have Any Friends” – (John Frizzell)
23. “Hi, I’m Moon” – (John Frizzell)
24. “Frank Addresses Congress” – (John Frizzell)
25. “Turn Off That Zappa Music” – (John Frizzell)
26. “Frank Getting Sick” – (John Frizzell)
27. “Envelopes” (1983 Original Vinyl Mix) – Frank Zappa, London Symphony Orchestra^
28. “Overture” (Live in Frankfurt, Germany – Sept. 19, 1992) – Ensemble Modern, Conducted by Frank Zappa*
29. “Get Whitey” – Frank Zappa
30. “Nap Time” – Frank Zappa
31. “Watermelon In Easter Hay” (Live, 1978) – Frank Zappa

* Previously unreleased
^ Currently unavailable

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Ozzy Osbourne Recalls the Time He Accidentally Drugged a Vicar

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Ozzy Osbourne recalled the time he inadvertently drugged a vicar and reflected on why he never accepted the churchman’s offer to confess his sins.

The incident took place when the singer and then-wife Thelma were living in the English countryside, he told GQ in a recent interview. He noted that the situation unfolded after he’d gone to the pub and returned after a “few days.”

“I’d bought some hash and I’d made a cake with it,” Osbourne said. “I put it in a tin and went to the pub and I said to my ex-wife, ’Don’t let anybody eat this fucking cake. It will be bad.’” He continued: “Anyway, I came back from the pub a few days later and I did a double-take, because the vicar was in our house, having a cup of tea in the kitchen with a piece of this cake. I hadn’t got a driving [license], but he was slumped in my kitchen, so I had to drag him out by his hair, push him in the back of his car, drive him to his door and then walk home.”

The Black Sabbath icon said he’d become concerned after not setting eyes on the vicar for two weeks. “I thought I’d killed him,” he admitted. “Then I saw him in a pub on a Sunday morning and he said, ‘I must have caught such a dreadful flu at yours. I hallucinated for three days and had to miss church.’ I was just relieved to see him. ‘Fucking hell, he’s alive!’ Because that was a big chunk of hash.”

Asked about the apparent conflict in a vicar visiting the home of Ozzy Osbourne, he explained: “When you move into the countryside they try to get you into the congregation and welcome you to the community. They invite you for a chat, see if you want to confess a few things.” He added: “If I’d have gone I’d still be there now, fucking confessing all my sins!”

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George Harrison’s ‘All Things Must Pass’ Set for Expanded Remix

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A remix of the Phil Spector co-produced All Things Must Pass was one of the late George Harrison‘s long-held goals. Asked about his monumental debut years later, he reportedly said: “Too much echo.”

Harrison’s son, Dhani, is now shepherding that dream to reality, with an expanded – and, yes, remixed – 50th-anniversary edition of Harrison’s first post-Beatles recording. An official release date for the new set is still forthcoming, but the Harrison estate has shared a tantalizing sample with an updated version of its title song. You can listen below.

“The new stereo mix of the album’s title track is just a taste of more things to come in 2021 as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of my father’s legendary All Things Must Pass album,” Dhani Harrison said in an official statement. “We’ve been digging through mountains of tapes, and they just kept coming – boxes and boxes of them. Making this album sound clearer was always one of my dad’s greatest wishes and it was something we were working on together right up until he passed.”

Dhani partnered on the project with Grammy-winning engineer Paul Hicks, who’s overseen recent remixes of the Rolling Stones‘ Goats Head Soup and John Lennon‘s best-known songs on Gimme Some Truth. All Things Must Pass was released 50 years ago today; the title song was one of several rejected by the Beatles during Harrison’s final sessions with the group.

“My Sweet Lord,” the first No. 1 hit by a former member of the Beatles, will also be re-released today. This special 7″ “milky-clear” single arrives as part of 2020’s Record Store Day‘s Black Friday event. Each 45 will be individually numbered.

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